BYU Department of Dance and School of Music students work together to present original work

In an interdisciplinary production, the BYU Department of Dance will team up with the BYU School of Music to present this semester’s dancEnsemble (dE).

The concert’s collaborative roots started when Monson approached School of Music Professor Christian Asplund and Professor Neil Thornock who helped partner student dance choreographers with music composition students to create original music for each choreographic work.

“I know that ‘group work’ sometimes gets a bad rap,” said dE director Kate Monson, “but in my experience, knowing how to collaborate is a huge benefit to artists in any field or genre. My artistry develops exponentially when I have a successful collaborative experience with other talented artists. That is why I wanted my dE students to collaborate with artists outside of their field.”

Much like last semester, this dE concert will also focus on student choreography. “Music and dance naturally pair,” said Monson, “but that doesn’t mean musicians and dancers know how to communicate with each other. It’s been great to see how each choreographer and musician finds their own path to work out their needs and artistic vision together. Also, dance with live music is one of the best things to be a part of.”

Asplund created a new composition that will be performed by musical guests, Alex and Aubrey Woods, for the dE company piece which was choreographed by Monson.

About Us

BYU Arts is the umbrella producing and presenting organization for the Brigham Young University College of Fine Arts and Communications.

We present more than 500 annual performances and events sponsored by the Department of Dance, Department of Theatre and Media Arts, School of Music, and BRAVO! Professional Performing Arts in the Harris Fine Arts Center, Marriott Center, and Richards Building.